1 of 2 | Friends and family members welcome their relatives released from Israeli prisons, as they arrive at Ramallah Cultural Palace in the West Bank city of Ramallah, early Thursday. Israel released 641 Palestinian prisoners, 42 of them were released to the West Bank and Jerusalem, 97 were exiled to Egypt and the rest to Gaza, in exchange for the bodies of four hostages from Gaza as part of the Israel-Hamas hostage-release and ceasefire deal. Photo by Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE
Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The bodies of four Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas more than a year ago were returned to Israel early Thursday, officials said, in an overnight exchange held five days after Israel halted prisoner releases in protest over Hamas' repeated use of hostage handovers as "humiliating" publicity stunts.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed to UPI in an emailed statement that the Israel Defense Forces received the coffins of four deceased hostages through the Red Cross.
The IDF received bodies over the Kerem Shalom Crossing between Gaza and Israel near their southern border with Egypt.
"The families of the hostages are being continuously updated and will be officially notified upon the completion of the identification process," it said.
WAFA, the Palestinian-run news agency, confirmed that more than 640 Palestinian had been released.
The Israel Prison Service told UPI in an earlier statement that it had received the list of prisoners to be released.
According to the statement, the prisoners were to be escorted to reception centers at Ofer and Ktziot prisons where they were to be identified by Red Cross representatives and wait until the arrival of the Israeli prisoners.
Hundreds were taken to the West Bank, while 97 were deported to Israel.
The Israeli accusations of Hamas using hostages for publicity had threatened to derail the six-week-old cease-fire and prevent it from transitioning into a second planned phase after Hamas said it would boycott talks to extend the truce until the prisoners were released but mediators had managed to resolve the issue, according to Israeli and Hamas officials.
The breakthrough came in Cairo after Hamas dispatched a delegation to the Egyptian capital led by the militant group's Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, with Egyptian officials saying Hamas would hand back the remains of their captives from Gaza without any of the paramilitary theatrics or showboating that marked previous exchanges.
Hamas stressed in a statement Tuesday night it was fully committed to the cease-fire agreement and wanted to see "all its stages and clauses" implemented.
An Israeli official told CNN that Hamas could return the bodies as early as Wednesday evening.
The more than 600 Palestinians up for release, many of whom were detained since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, were to have been freed last Saturday in exchange for six hostages and four sets of remains of deceased hostages handed back to Israel in the preceding days.
The BBC reported that Israel might be preparing to release an additional group of Palestinian prisoners, with the releases set to take place either later Wednesday or Thursday, paving the way for U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to travel to the region to try to kickstart delayed negotiations on phase two which were due to begin Feb. 16.
The latest exchange, the last of the initial six-week phase of the agreement set to expire Sunday, came as thousands of Israelis lined the streets of the Tel Aviv suburbs along the funeral route of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, whose bodies were returned Thursday.
The family was later laid to rest in a private ceremony near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel.
They are survived by Sheri's husband and father of the boys, Yarden Bibas, who was also taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, but came back alive after being released Feb. 1, apparently unaware of the fate of his family, as they were held separately.
